Vanilla Imperial Stout
Boulevard Brewing Co.

 

 

 

Black in color with no light penetration. No discernible head. The aroma is of vanilla and sweet bourbon. I’m tasting a wallop of vanilla, wheat, and bourbon. The mouth is thick and sticky.

Drank 1/9/26. Best by: 8/3/28
pour is black with a dense cap of deeply cinnamon foam that fades to a nice little ring around the glass.
Nose is a ton of vanilla. comes of artificial
Taste follows - holy vanilla. vanilla, marshmallow, cream, some chocolate and bourbon notes, but the vanilla absolutely dominates. Quite sweet from the vanilla, though. the tons of residual sugar cloying sweet - just very forward on the vanilla.

Well this is certainly a vanilla stout. More balanced would be ideal in my opinion. the vanilla absolutely overrides anything and everything else.

 

Looks like the Darkest stout of the night deep black with a rich mocha head that sticks around to a lovely opaque ring. Smell is kind of ice cream like you can smell the vanilla bean but it almost smells of the extract because of the whiskey boozy notes? Might be the best part of the beer though never smelled one so close to the actual vanilla ice cream. Taste is pretty boozy whiskey and vanilla predominant but balanced it has a bit of herbal hops and bitter coffee roasts but I'm not getting any chemical or candle? Taste as recent member described. Defiantly sickeningly sweet as expected for this level of vanilla but it does an excellent job covering up the massive ABV. Could be great sitting in the bottle for say 6 months but as of now its a very boozy vanilla and coffee imperial stout.

fake chemical

Oily, pitch black--with a creamy light brown head. Surprisingly good retention, with some lacing.

Smells very strong and sweet--lots of oak whiskey barrel shining through, vanilla and spices, brown sugar and gooey chocolate.

Taste follows the nose. Huge burst of alcohol warmth, thick gooey dark chocolate--lava cake? Vanilla candle, spice cake, cinnamon, allspice, clove, cardamom. Toasted coconut, brown sugar, heavy amount of whiskey barrel/oak. Lingering warm, sweet finish, cut down by barrel tannins.

Thick, chewy mouthfeel, light carbonation, sticky-sweet lingering finish.

Great BA IS. Super tasty. Highly recommended for fans of the style!

12oz bottle. Dating stamp on label is 'PLEASE ENJOY BY: KC040825122 03AUG2028B'.
Black colored body with no back lit edge. Thin finger of brown colored head, which becomes an interrupted cap and full ring. Lower part of the body leaves behind short strings of lacing.
Aroma of roasted malts, cream, vanilla, and a little chocolate and coffee.
Taste is enhanced more than the nose with the bourbon barrel and oak. Flavors express in waves with more sweet bourbon, vanilla, and oak early, and later with dark chocolate and dark roast coffee. Hints of nuts and coconut arrive late. Also bits of molasses and very late a semblance of strawberry. Higher ABV% gives off vapors that are slightly burning and also drying.
Medium mouthfeel. Creamy and drying. Good carbonation.
Sweet vanilla dominates until the very end when dark chocolate and dark roast coffee strikes a balance.

Pours jet black with hardly a head on top. Strong sweet smell along with vanilla and a hint of bourbon barrel. Taste is exactly like the smell but with an overpowering bourbon taste.

 

Boulevard has a darker side and they aren't afraid to show it. Brewing an imperial stout and then showing the patience to age it for more than a year in bourbon barrels, adding vanilla and sending out to market shows the maturity of these crafty brewers.

Deep, dark and espresso-like, Vanilla Imperial Stout releases a sheet of tarnish froth along with a bold, savory, soothing and sultry scent of coffee, cocoa and cream wrapped in boozy bourbon nuance. Malty-sweet and robustly roasted, the early palate opens with a deeply savory taste of burnt toast and smoked cocoa that leans into dark roast coffee, roasting walnut, dark chocolate and blackstrap molasses before being wrapped in a cocoon of vanilla, caramel, cream and coconut- partly from vanilla additions and partly from the barrel.

Full bodied, creamy and warm on the senses, there's a boozy sense of affogato that swirls around the session, showing that velvety roast is still in fashion.

Pours an effervescent chestnut/cola color with 2 fingers of mocha colored head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Vanilla, cocoa, wanted some barrel it shows up closer to room temperature

T: Some barrel, raw & woody, vanilla sweetness & a little dry up front. Barrel notes, plenty of vanilla, fairly sweet, but not forced, a trace of butterscotch schnapps as well ( not in a bad way ). Twangy barrel & vanilla in the finish, faint coffee & cocoa notes & just a little Baker's Chocolate

MF: Medium body, fairly smooth carbonation, a little warming

The wheat makes it presence felt, pretty good drinkability, a sipper to be sure, a little more barrel & less sweetness would've elevated this

It poured without head into a tulip glass, but it did leave a follow ring that doesn't have any lacing.
The nose is vanilla that's given a roundness of a black grape aroma.
Its taste is vanilla bean, the barrel that brung it and black grape.
Interesting, the dry mouthfeel. Overall, it takes a sip or two to taste then take this as it is for a barrel-aged wheated beer.
This does not sneak up on you; its ABV attacks. Sip. Enjoy.

Boulevard Vanilla BBA Imperial Stout 2025, 13.5% ABV. Pours black with a one-finger medium-brown head that left light lacing. Aroma is vanilla. Taste is vanilla and light chocolate, slight bourbon with no burn, and slightly sweet, balancing the bitterness. Certainly not a pastry stout. Excellent slightly dry mouthfeel, overall excellent. Label says well rested.

12oz bottle poured into a tulip

A- pours jet black in color with a one-finger foamy dark brown head that has good retention and leaves some lacing behind

S- bold vanilla note up front that comes through as a marshmallow cream aroma. Sweet chocolate undertones with a hint of caramel. Just a hint of barrel as it warms, gives some very light oak

T- sweet marshmallow cream and chocolate up front, followed by some caramel notes. Mid-palate continues with the sweetness, with more vanilla cream emerging. The finish brings out just a hint of barrel, adding oak. Lingers of marshmallow and sweet chocolate

M- medium body with moderate carbonation leads to a creamy mouthfeel that continues into a warming finish

O- this one could have benefitted with more barrel notes, as the sweetness of the beer as almost cloying by the end of the glass